State lawmakers and housing professionals are debating the merits of a rent cap bill being proposed by Gov. Ned Lamont.
The bill would prevent landlords from raising rent by more than 5% within the first year of their ownership of the building.
Lamont previously said the bill is a way to target out-of-state and corporate landlords from purchasing so many of Connecticut’s rental properties.
“A lot of it's related to out of state buyers, buying up the market, using that monopoly to jack up rents,” Lamont said.
Nearly 100 people submitted testimony regarding the proposed rent cap and parts of a 12-hour public hearing meeting held Tuesday revolved around the bill.
The goal is to help keep families in their homes and protect them from predatory landlords, according to Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno.
“Everybody says it’s a crisis and I try not to use that word because when you use that word for everything is a crisis, then it’s not meaningful anymore,” Mosquera-Bruno said. “But this is very serious, the lack of housing that is affordable for our residents, especially our working families.”
The bill takes into account and makes exceptions, allowing rent boosts for landlords with plans to conduct extensive refurbishments to the property.
Qualifying property improvements include new plumbing or heating systems. Major renovations, as defined by the bill, include projects in which owners invested more than $50,000 per apartment, according to the bill.
A move preventing landlords from moving in and immediately boosting rent has been done in about six other states, but its efficacy isn’t yet proven, Mosquera-Bruno said.
Opponents say the bill would disincentivize landlords to improve their buildings and prevent investment in Connecticut.
Rent increases are sometimes necessary to help maintain properties, according to Janice Miner, Chief Operating Officer of MCR Property Management. The company manages buildings for a corporate landlord and oversees more than 25,000 apartments across Connecticut.
“I can understand the renters’ concerns for those increases but all the expenses related to providing that housing has increased as well and without the rents there’s no money to pay the bills,” Miner said.
State Sen. Rob Sampson, a Republican representing Waterbury and the surrounding towns, said the bill would prevent landlords from investing in their buildings.
“For me, that’s the ‘keep the buildings dumpy’ bill,” Sampson said. “It’s going to discourage investment.”
